Probation is only for people who violate the law at a county/state level in my experience. You end up on probation in a county or counties if you have not gone to prison or were jailed in country jail with a sentence of under 365 days. Sentences of over 365 days are prison terms and the person will be paroled after serving time. The only major difference between parole and probation in my experience is parole will not violate someone for marijuana while probation will.